DOCSLIB.ORG

University of California Riverside

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
University of California Riverside UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Diaspora and Belonging in Panama: Cultural Performance and National Identity for Panamanians of Chinese DesCent A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaCtion of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in MusiC by Corey MiChael Blake December 2019 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Jonathan Ritter, Chairperson Dr. Deborah Wong Dr. Lok C.D. Siu Dr. Helen Rees Dr. Liz Przybylski Copyright by Corey MiChael Blake 2019 The Dissertation of Corey MiChael Blake is approved: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments The completion of this projeCt is only possible through the support, guidance, and research opportunities provided by communities of colleagues, friends, family, and organizations both in the United States and in Panama. Here, I would like to give credit for the boundless generosity that made this manusCript a possibility. First, I owe a great debt of gratitude to friends and colleagues in Panama, none of whom I would have met Without the kindness and openness of Felipe Chong, who initially invited me to my first APROCHIPA event: Beto Carrillo and family, Chia Chan, Aura Lee, Carmen Wong, and Liliana Wong. Thank you for allowing me to tag along with you for various community events throughout the country and for making me feel welCome and part of the team. I am espeCially grateful for Felipe’s friendship, despite my persistent questioning and intervieWing, and although I only barely survived our hiking trip through Los Chorros, I deeply appreCiated being welComed along. I would also like to extend a huge thanks to Berta AliCia Chen for providing me With literature and insight about the community, Ana Chung for being so welComing and insightful for various aspeCts of this research, Jose Chang and Miguel Loo for allowing me to experience the talents of your Lion Dance groups in Panama City and for granting me permission to use your photos, Mario Chung for providing me with deep insight into the musiCal life and local identity of Panamanians of Chinese desCent, and Daniella Espinosa for being my first intervieW and supportive of my research from my first steps in Panama. I would further like to thank Juan Tam, who has been an ardent supporter, advisor, and mentor to me since well before this projeCt began. None of this would have iv been possible for me without your initial support baCk in 2015. To Brenda Lau, I am eternally grateful to you for you allowing me to aCCess and be a part of some of your family’s private karaoke sessions and for the knowledge I was able to gain in these moments. Thank you for being willing to disCuss your musiC with me and for providing validation for my research. I am partiCularly grateful to my dissertation committee: Jonathan Ritter, Deborah Wong, Liz Przybylski. Lok Siu, and Helen Rees. Thank you for providing me with a high standard of research excellence of whiCh to aspire and for being willing to dediCate your time and guidance to me in order to make this projeCt sucCessful. EaCh of your respeCtive research areas and expertise proves to be a crucial element for my own research and I am grateful that you are willing to be a part of my aCademiC journey. The staff at the Fulbright Institute of International Education, thank you for granting me the freedom and independence to conduct this research through financial support. Additionally, thank you to the U.S. Embassy in Panama staff who supported me through logistiCal aspeCts of international research and through a genuine interest and engagement with my study: former-Ambassador to Panama John D. Feeley, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Roxanne Cabral, Sarah Ferguson, Dalys DeGraCia, and FrancisCo “PaCo” Perez. To my fellow Fulbrighter Tova Katzman, I am so grateful for your friendship, emotional support, and the many moments We were able to share, disCuss, and theorize eaCh other’s research while also alleviating some of the homesiCkness from long-term international research. v Thank you to the UCR Center for Ideas and Society for the financial support for this research through the Humanities Graduate Research Grant. Additional thanks go out to all of my faCulty, colleagues, and friends at UCR who provided endless motivation, support, and guidance in the preliminary phases of this research: Paula Propst, Claudine Avalos, JessiCa Gutierrez Masini, Elizabeth Stela, Yuki Proulx, Cuauhtémoc Dante Lauren, Christine Gailey, Hyejin Nah, and Xóchitl Chávez. Thank you to my family both in Panama and in the United States. To JaCkeline LasCano, Jesús Aguilar, and mi primito Jesús Aguilar LasCano, thank you for providing me more than just a shelter, but a home during my time in Panama. The family moments have been etChed into my heart forever and I look forward to the memories we will Continue to make in the future. To my parents, brother, grandparents, nieCes/nepheWs, and cousins, thank you for a lifetime of love and encouragement and for alWays supporting my dreams. Without this, I would not be where I am today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my friends both near and far who supported me with encouragement, love, positivity, and care paCkages: Shana Vernon, Lynn Atkins, Kathleen Dooley, and C. Paige Porter. Finally, I would like to thank my fiancé William Shannon O’Bryan for providing me the strength and motivation to complete this dissertation through your endless love, support, and aCCountability throughout the duration of both my fieldwork and the writing process. vi This dissertation is dediCated to William Robert Blake, Jr. (1937 – 2018) Dina Marisol LasCano (1982 – 2018) Carrie Marie Blake (1988 – 2018) vii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION From Diaspora to Belonging: Cultural Performance and National Identity for Panamanians of Chinese DesCent by Corey MiChael Blake Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in MusiC University of California, Riverside, December 2019 Dr. Jonathan Ritter, Chairperson The first Chinese migrants arrived in modern-day Panama aboard the clipper Sea Witch in April of 1854. In their first steps on what was then known as NeW Granada, they arrived as laborers to work on the Panama Railroad, a projeCt commissioned by the United States to help transport wealth aCCumulated from the California Gold Rush that Was taking plaCe at the time. Since their arrival, waves of migrations have ocCurred over the past century and a half. With eaCh wave of migration, people bring with them their own customs and ideals, of whiCh musiC and dance are of great importance. This research makes evident the importance of Chinese presence in Panamanian culture and society. As one of the largest Chinese diasporas within Latin AmeriCa, the case of Chinese Panamanians provides a compelling case study for understanding the sociopolitiCal Consequences of being ethniCally Asian within a Latin AmeriCan context. viii In this dissertation, I argue that cultural performances through musiC and dance Construct, maintain, and express unique biCultural, transnational, and often shifting identities to assert belonging through difference as Panamanians of Chinese desCent Continue to redefine and negotiate notions of Panamanian nationhood. Central throughout this projeCt, cultural performance through musiC, dance, religious worship, and sporting events beComes an important tool for validating and asserting a Panamanian national identity in light of a long history of marginalization. By incorporating Chinese art forms into the most meaningful personal and nationalistiC moments of their lives, Chineseness no longer beComes a symbol of what is not Panamanian, but instead beComes a representation of what Panamanian can be. In doing so, this community deConstructs the barriers of national identity that have historiCally marginalized them in very openly hostile ways. A result of ten months of ethnographiC fieldwork in Panama City, Panama betWeen September 2017 and July 2018, this dissertation explores issues of diaspora, belonging, and nationhood for Chinese Panamanians and Panamanians of Chinese desCent and the complexities inherent in performative expressions of identity in situating national belonging, validation, and reCognition of such identities in the Panamanian national imaginary. ix Table of Contents ACknowledgements.............................................................................................................iv AbstraCt.............................................................................................................................viii List of Illustrations.............................................................................................................xii Note on Audio and Video Examples..................................................................................xiv List of Video Examples......................................................................................................xv Chapter 1 – Introduction...................................................................................................1 Theory and Literature...............................................................................................5 Mestizaje......................................................................................................5 Panamanian MusiCal Identity.......................................................................9
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2018
    The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2018 Through subtle shades of color, the cover design represents the layers of richness and diversity that flourish within minority communities. The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal 2018 A collection of scholarly research by fellows of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program Preface We are proud to present to you the 2018 edition of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Journal. For more than 30 years, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program has endeavored to promote diversity in the faculty of higher education, specifically by supporting thousands of students from underrepresented minority groups in their goal of obtaining PhDs. With the MMUF Journal, we provide an additional opportunity for students to experience academia through exposure to the publishing process. In addition to providing an audience for student work, the journal offers an introduction to the publishing process, including peer review and editor-guided revision of scholarly work. For the majority of students, the MMUF Journal is their first experience in publishing a scholarly article. The 2018 Journal features writing by 27 authors from 22 colleges and universities that are part of the program’s member institutions. The scholarship represented in the journal ranges from research conducted under the MMUF program, introductions to senior theses, and papers written for university courses. The work presented here includes scholarship from a wide range of disciples, from history to linguistics to political science. The papers presented here will take the reader on a journey. Readers will travel across the U.S., from Texas to South Carolina to California, and to countries ranging from Brazil and Nicaragua to Germany and South Korea, as they learn about theater, race relations, and the refugee experience.
    [Show full text]
  • Incumbent's Party Loses Presidency in Panama
    AMERICAS By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD MAY 4, 2014 MEXICO CITY — Panamanians, enjoying one of the fastest-growing economies in the hemisphere but wary of corruption and growing executive power, rejected the governing party’s choice for president on Sunday — on a ticket with the president’s wife for vice president — and instead hewed to tradition by electing an opposition candidate. Panama’s election commission declared the president-elect to be Juan Carlos Varela, who is vice president but broke with the governing party in a rancorous falling-out and was stripped of many of his duties. He captured 39 percent of the vote, with more than three- Voters lined up at a polling station outside quarters of the ballots counted. Panama City for the presidential election on Sunday. The election commission declared Juan Mr. Varela, 50, an engineer and well-known politician whose family Carlos Varela, an opposition candidate, the owns the country’s biggest liquor producer, was seven points ahead of winner. Edgard Garrido/Reuters the 32 percent won by the governing party candidate, José Domingo Arias, a former housing minister and a political newcomer. A third major candidate, Juan Carlos Navarro, a former two-time mayor of Panama City, had 28 percent. converted by Web2PDFConvert.com Juan Carlos Varela at a polling place in Panama City. Mr. Varela said he would promote transparency and fight corruption. Edgard Garrido/Reuters Mr. Varela, who takes office on July 1 for a five-year term, campaigned against growing fears of corruption and the president’s iron fist-style of leadership. He promised a more transparent government that would maintain growth and popular social programs and fight inequality.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion in Panama
    Religion in Panama Country Summary Although the Republic of Panama, which is about the size of South Carolina, is now considered part of the Central American region, until 1903 the territory was a province of Colombia. The Republic of Panama forms the narrowest part of the isthmus and is located between Costa Rica to the west and Colombia to the east. The Caribbean Sea borders the northern coast of Panama, and the Pacific Ocean borders the southern coast. Panama City is the nation’s capital, which contains about 40 percent of the nation’s population. The country has an area of 30,193 square miles (75,417 square km) and a population of 3.3 million (2008). Racially, the majority of the population is considered mestizo (70 percent, mixed Amerindian and Hispanic), while the rest are West Indian (14 percent, Afro-Caribbean), Amer- indian (8 percent), Caucasian (6 percent) and Asian/other (2 percent). The Amerindian popu- lation (285,230 in 2000) includes eight ethnolinguistic groups: the Guaymí (Ngöbe-Buglé), Kuna, Choco (Emberá-Wounaan), Teribe (Naso), Bokota and Bribri. In 2000, about 80 percent of the population were Spanish-speaking, about 9 percent were speakers of Asian or Middle Eastern languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindustani, Hebrew and Arabic), 8.3 percent were Amerindian (speakers of eight languages), and 3.7 percent were English-speaking (mainly West Indian and North American). However, many Panamanians are bilingual, especially in Spanish and English (Standard English and Western Caribbean Creole English). There is also a small population of “Negros Congos” who speak an Afro-Hispanic Creole, especially on the Caribbean coast of Colón province.
    [Show full text]
  • A Rare Phone Call from One President to Another - Not Even Past
    A Rare Phone Call from One President to Another - Not Even Past BOOKS FILMS & MEDIA THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN BLOG TEXAS OUR/STORIES STUDENTS ABOUT 15 MINUTE HISTORY "The past is never dead. It's not even past." William Faulkner NOT EVEN PAST Tweet 2 Like THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN A Rare Phone Call from One President to Another Making History: Houston’s “Spirit of the by Jonathan C. Brown Confederacy” “Señor Presidente,” Lyndon Baines Johnson said via a long-distance telephone call from the Oval Office. “We are very sorry over the violence which you have had down there but gratified that you have appealed to the Panamanian people to remain calm.” President Johnson often talked politics on the phone but seldom with foreign leaders. Johnson, who had just succeeded to the presidency of the world’s most powerful country, was speaking to the head of state of one of the smaller nations of the Western Hemisphere. The call marked the only time that Johnson spoke to a Latin American counterpart by telephone during his presidency—a fact that demonstrates how serious he considered the situation. This unique president-to-president phone conversation occurred on January 10, 1964, following the first full May 06, 2020 day of riots by Panamanian youths along the fence line between Panama City and the U.S. occupied Canal Zone. It was the first foreign crisis of the Johnson presidency. Johnson’s call was translated by a More from The Public Historian Spanish-speaking U.S. Army colonel, transcribed by the White House staff, and preserved in the archives of the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum.
    [Show full text]
  • About Panama
    Panama The Republic of Panama is located in the center of the Western Hemisphere under the following coordinates: 7º12’07" and 9º38’46" North, 77º09’24" and 83º03’07" West. Its Borders are: to the North, the Caribbean Sea; to the East, the Republic of Colombia; to the South with the Pacific Ocean and to the West with the Republic of Costa Rica. Panama is the link between Central America and South America, constituting an isthmus of 80 km. wide in its narrower section. Official Name: Republic of Panama. Capital: Panama City. Nationality: Panamanian. Area, Population and Density: 75,517 square Km; the total population is 2,839,177, 81 persons/square mi. Age Distribution (%): 0‐14 years 37.0%, 15‐59 years 56.3%, 60+ years 6.7% Political Division: 9 provinces and 5 indigenous communities. Government: constitutional democracy, centralized Republic Legal System: based on the civilian legal system, judicial revision of legislative acts in the Supreme Court. Accepting international tribunal jurisdiction, except in some instances. Language: the official language is Spanish. However, many Panamanians speak English. Literacy Rate: 90% Weather: Panamanian weather is tropical, and uniform throughout the year. The average temperature is 27 degrees C. Religion: there is an absolute freedom of Religion in Panama. Most Panamanians are Roman Catholic. However, due to the diversity in the country, you can find all kinds of temples of worship throughout the country. Time Zone: the time in Panama all year long is the same as the EST (GMT ‐5). We do not observe Daylight Savings Time. Currency: the U.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicken's Feet and Tarragon Vinegar Emulsion
    ISAAC MCHALE’S RECIPES CHICKEN’S FEET AND TARRAGON VINEGAR EMULSION Isaac McHale’s recipes FOUR International Summer 2015 CHICKEN’S FEET AND TARRAGON VINEGAR EMULSION SERVES 1 INGREDIENTS METHOD CHICKEN FEET CHICKEN FEET • 3 chicken feet Trim the nails and tendons from the chicken feet. Place in a large pot and bring to the boil from cold. Rinse thoroughly then cook in a liquor of 10g salt per litre TARRAGON VINEGAR EMULSION of water for 8 hours on 85C. Once cooked using scissors make an incision up the • 400g brown chicken stock reduced to 300g base of the foot and along each bone, then gently remove all bones from inside • 25g thick and easy the foot and lay out flat on a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate on 65C for 24 hours until • 50g rendered chicken fat completely dry. The feet are then fried in vegetable oil at 215C using tweezer tongs • 15g tarragon vinegar to keep them flat until golden brown and slightly puffed. Drain onto a tissue and • 4g salt keep warm until serving. DEVIL SPICE MIX CHICKEN FAT & TARRAGON VINEGAR EMULSION • 15g Jamaican pepper Reduce chicken stock to 300g, add the chicken fat, salt & thick and easy and cook • 4g mace for 1 min until thickened whisking constantly, finally whisk in the vinegar then put • 8g dry herb mix (sage, thyme, savory, rosemary) mixture into an espuma gun and gas with 2 cream (no.2) chargers. • 55g celery salt • 140g sweet paprika TO SERVE • 10g colema mustard powder Dust the warm puffed chicken feet with devil spice mix and serve with a small bowl • 16g black pepper of the chicken and tarragon emulsion.
    [Show full text]
  • Panama: Locking in Success
    Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized PANAMA: LOCKING IN SUCCESS A SYSTEMATIC COUNTRY DIAGNOSTIC Public Disclosure Authorized JANUARY 16, 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the members of the Panama Country Team from all Global Practices and IFC, as well as all the partners and stakeholders in Panama, who have contributed to the preparation of this document in a strong collaborative process. (A full description of this process is found in Annex 1). We are very grateful for the generosity exhibited in providing us with substantive inputs, knowledge and advice, particularly given the time limitations. The team is co-led by Friederike (Fritzi) Koehler-Geib (Sr. Economist) and Kinnon Scott (Sr. Economist). Ayat Soliman (Program Leader) provided overall coordination. In addition, the following people provided substantive inputs and guidance: Humberto Lopez (Country Director), Frank Sader (Principal Strategy Officer), Louise J. Cord (Practice Manager), Auguste Tano Kouame (Practice Manager), Maryanne Sharp (Country Operations Adviser), Oscar Calvo- Gonzalez (Program Leader), and Kathy A. Lindert (Program Leader). Peer reviewers are: Pablo Fajnzylber, Practice Manager; David Gould, Lead Economist; and Jennifer J. Sara, Director. The table below identifies the full list of team members that have contributed their time, effort and expertise, and their affiliations. CMU/Global Practice/Cross Team Member Cutting Solution Area/IFC Agriculture Irina I. Klytchnikova, Norman Bentley Piccioni Caribbean CMU Francisco Galrao Carneiro Central America CMU Jovana Stojanovic, Kathy A. Lindert, Mary Rose Parrish, Maria del Camino Hurtado, Oscar Calvo-Gonzalez, Anabela Abreu, Sara Paredes Ponce, Meilyn Gem, Michelle Mccue, Sonia Molina, Desiree Gonzales Climate Change Luiz T.
    [Show full text]
  • Restaurant Oriental Wa-Lok
    RESTAURANT ORIENTAL WA-LOK DIRECCIÓN:JR.PARURO N.864-LIMA TÉLEFONO: (01) 4270727 RESTAURANT ORIENTAL WA-LOK BOCADITOS APPETIZER 1. JA KAO S/.21.00 Shrimp dumpling 2. CHI CHON FAN CON CARNE S/.17.00 Rice noodle roll with beef 3. CHIN CHON FAN CON LAN GOSTINO S/.20.00 Rice noodle roll with shrimp 4. CHIN CHON FAN SOLO S/.14.00 Rice noodle roll 5. CHIN CHON FAN CON VERDURAS S/.17.00 Rice noodle with vegetables 6. SAM SEN KAO S/.25.00 Pork, mushrooms and green pea dumplings 7. BOLA DE CARNE S/.19.00 Steam meat in shape of ball 8. SIU MAI DE CARNE S/.18.00 Siumai dumpling with beef 9. SIU MAI DE CHANCHO Y LANGOSTINO S/.18.00 Siumai dumpling with pork and shrimp 10. COSTILLA CON TAUSI S/.17.00 Steam short ribs with black beans sauce 11. PATITA DE POLLO CON TAUSI S/.17.00 Chicken feet with black beans 12. ENROLIADO DE PRIMAVERA S/.17.00 Spring rolls 13. ENROLLADO 100 FLORES S/.40.00 100 flowers rolls 14. WANTAN FRITO S/.18.00 Fried wonton 15. SUI KAO FRITO S/.20.00 Fried suikao 16. JAKAO FRITO S/.21.00 Fried shrimp dumpling Dirección: Jr. Paruro N.864-LIMA Tel: (01) 4270727 RESTAURANT ORIENTAL WA-LOK 17. MIN PAO ESPECIAL S/.13.00 Steamed special bun (baozi) 18. MIN PAO DE CHANCHO S/.11.00 Steamed pork bun (baozi) 19. MIN PAO DE POLLO S/.11.00 Steamed chicken bun (baozi) 20. MIN PAO DULCE S/.10.00 Sweet bun (baozi) 21.
    [Show full text]
  • The Victorian Body
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications -- Department of English English, Department of 3-2018 The icV torian Body Peter J. Capuano University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishfacpubs Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Reading and Language Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Capuano, Peter J., "The ictV orian Body" (2018). Faculty Publications -- Department of English. 201. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishfacpubs/201 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications -- Department of English by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. digitalcommons.unl.edu The Victorian Body Peter J. Capuano University of Nebraska–Lincoln Introduction The nineteenth century is extremely important for the study of embodiment be- cause it is the period in which the modern body, as we currently understand it, was most thoroughly explored. This was the era when modern medical models of the body were developed and disseminated, when modern political relations to the body were instantiated, and when modern identities in relation to class, race, and gender were inscribed. While questions about the distinctions between personhood and the body were studied
    [Show full text]
  • Panama City City Center
    RESTAURANTS PANAMA CITY CITY CENTER Maito Maito lends a classic, simple and beautiful ambience in the outskirts of the city center away from the busy streets and crowded banking center. It is ranked among Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants and the menu offers a creative and inspired fusion of Panamanian local specialties with international cuisine created by Chef Mario Castrellon. Its seafood appetizers and entrees are highly recommended. Open Mon-Sat 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. Sundays closed. EMail: [email protected] Phone: (507) 391-4657 Address: End of Calle 50 crossing Cincuentenario, 4th house on the left, Coco del Mar Salsipuedes (The Bristol Hotel) A Panamanian gourmet food experience in elegant surroundings. Experience the finest Panamanian cuisine with the most fresh and natural native ingredients in a wide variety of international, seafood and Panamanian dishes. Desserts to-die-for. Also, one of the best Sunday brunches in Panama. Located at the Bristol Hotel. Open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Email: [email protected] Phone: (507) 264-0000 Address: Avenida Aquilino de la Guardia, Bella Vista La Casa de Marisco Found in 1956 by Don Ramón Martínez Acha and his wife Doña Claudia from Spain, La Casa de Marisco transformed itself soon in one of the best seafood restaurants in Panama. It still enjoys excellent reputation, service, Spanish ambience and open-air patio. Enjoy gourmet seafood cuisine with some of the ingredients being directly imported from Spain. Enjoy the fine indoor dining atmosphere or a quaint outside patio. Open daily from 12:00 p.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring International Cuisine Reference Book
    4-H MOTTO Learn to do by doing. 4-H PLEDGE I pledge My HEAD to clearer thinking, My HEART to greater loyalty, My HANDS to larger service, My HEALTH to better living, For my club, my community and my country. 4-H GRACE (Tune of Auld Lang Syne) We thank thee, Lord, for blessings great On this, our own fair land. Teach us to serve thee joyfully, With head, heart, health and hand. This project was developed through funds provided by the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). No portion of this manual may be reproduced without written permission from the Saskatchewan 4-H Council, phone 306-933-7727, email: [email protected]. Developed April 2013. Writer: Leanne Schinkel TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Objectives .............................................................................................................................................................. 1 Requirements ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Tips for Success .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Achievement Requirements for this Project .......................................................................................... 2 Tips for Staying Safe .......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Otak-Who? Technoculture, Youth, Consumption, and Resistance
    Lawrence Eng Research Seminar Methods in STS Spring, 2002 Otak-who? Technoculture, youth, consumption, and resistance. American representations of a Japanese youth subculture. Abstract The otaku are a youth subculture first characterized in Japan, but beyond that basic definition of the term, there have been numerous, often contradictory and routinely contested, ways the otaku have been represented by various segments of Japanese society over the course of the last 2 decades. The otaku in Japan (and abroad) have attracted non- Japanese attention as well, and the otaku have been studied, mimicked, ridiculed, romanticized, etc. by Americans who have become interested in this apparently fascinating Japanese (sub)cultural export. Influenced by Japanese conceptions of otaku as obsessed fans, technological fetishists, avid collectors, antisocial outcasts, and/or borderline psychopaths, but informed by American attitudes toward geek culture, hackers, cyberpunks, individualism, and lay expertise, representations of otaku by American observers of the culture have been equally varied (and contested) over the last decade. This paper will examine the various and changing representations of otaku culture by Americans, and attempt to unpack the context behind and the implications of those representations. Drawing upon themes uncovered in this critical discourse analysis, I will suggest a new way of defining otaku as 'reluctant insiders' engaged in the appropriation of technology and science as a means of cultural resistance. I will argue that their activities are informed by a particular otaku ethic that distinguishes them from other subcultures with similar motivations. Introduction My paper is divided into three parts. In Part 1, I ask: Why do we care about otaku, and how will we study them? In Part 2, I will critically analyze the various ways otaku have been represented since they were first characterized as a subculture in the early 80s.
    [Show full text]